I've got one and absolutely love it. It's been nothing but good to me for 2 years so far. I guess I'm the odd one out, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if a lot of the complaints are just user error. That tends to be the case with a lot of equipment.
about lost my two fingers opening day for ohio this year because i cocked it back and it didn’t latch and about took my fingers. Had to pull it for 20 min straight to get it to latch
I didn’t let the cocking rope slam forward. It was cocked. The cocking rope was already detached from the string. The teeth that are missing in the video were holding the string. They obviously sheered off. Not user error there.
Bummer, that’s definitely a lemon CB. Hope their lifetime warranty works out, as some companies offer it, but is more of a pain in the a$$ to fulfill. Tight strings, my friend. 😊
I have a 405 lethal really like the bow hunting starts tomorrow and I’m worried about my limbs do to what I have since read after I bought it. It’s a shame there actually nice bows otherwise
Starts on a Sunday? Where are you? Register your bow ASAP. There’s people who have had theirs a year and they still honor warranty as long as you register before the return authorization is pushed through, so I wouldn’t worry about that. The stock bolts are fairly light and I think are part of the marketing plan. With those bolts, that bow shoots 405, but they’re really light and more of a target round than a hunting round. If I were you, I’d go get some heavier bolts, 325g minimum. Then you’d be at 425 or 450 with broadhead depending on if you use 100 or 125’s. Lots of people (including my dad) shoot Carbon Express Piledriver bolts, they’re very well known, like $40/6 and will do what you need them to. Heavier is better for longevity. In theory, that works because it slows down the string which creates less vibrations throughout the bow, and consequently, the limbs. Less vibrations in the limbs mean less likely to break. You can also put limb savers on to help absorb some energy. I decided to go away from compound crossbows for the simple fact that a recurve crossbow requires less maintenance and all the maintenance can be done at home. Break a limb? No problem, bolt a new set on and get back to shooting in no time. They’re also lighter. KI requires you to get your bow serviced every 3 years to maintain warranty, so don’t forget about that. If you call Killer Instinct and the wait time is too long, just shoot them an email. They respond quick, and even over the weekend sometimes. They aren’t bad to deal with, which is nice, I just wasn’t a fan of what happened and it sort of turned me off.
It’s not just the fact that the trigger sheered on me. A lot of my distaste with KI is how they handled it and minimized any safety concerns, if they acknowledged it at all. There were red flags along the way and I just can’t trust them based off the way they get pushed under the rug. I don’t think it’s right you went through 3 duds before buying one of their most expensive bows to finally get away from the problems. I hope you’re good from here on.
How old? That’s the number 1 issue with killer instincts bows. Your best bet after warranty repair (and missing weeks of hunting time) is to go find some 22” carbon express pile driver bolts, lighted nocks and the heaviest broad-head you can find. That should slow the string down causing less vibrations throughout the bow and extending the limb life. The downside? Well, you’ll have to replace the scope because that one isn’t adjustable. You’ll only be able to shoot it at the range you sighted it in at as your arrow trajectory will change. Check out the KI fan page on Facebook, I think the mod is getting fed up with the page because it’s turned into a bitch fest of everyone’s broken bows. Comments are filled with people complaining about limb failure.
I read about many problems with these crossbows I would not take a chance on one for another 100 bucks you can buy a wicked ridge crossbow made in the United States and have no problems i have one no issues
You know, it’s comical how people on a Facebook page for Killer Instinct argue that KI is no worse than any other company, they all have limbs break, etc, and that you only see it because people always complain about problems. Well, the thing is, probably 1/2 the posts and easily over 1/2 the comments on that page are complaining about problems with KI bows. I bought an Excalibur and joined a Facebook page for them too, maybe 1/10 posts are about a bow issue, and less than 1/2 are because of bow failure. I don’t know about wicked ridge, but iirc, aren’t they the affordable line made by Ten Point? I’ve heard good things about them, but I just wanted the simplicity of a recurve, so I went with Excalibur.
@@1fuckedupveteran everyone has a different opinion on what is good for them it's a personal choice on what you want to buy I have 3 crossbows a wicked ridge a10 point and a carbon express and I have not had any problems with them
This morning was opening day and fist thing I hear when I get in my stand is the limb cracking on my 4 week old killer Instinct VitalX. Been seeing a lot of videos of cracked limbs and not too happy to have opening day ruined by sh!tty components on a crossbow.
Ah man, I’m sorry to hear that! Hit them up and get some new ones sent out! The part that bugs me with their warranty is they pay for the parts, but then you’re responsible to pay the labor to fix a 4 week old bow after the season started. Why are you paying to fix what is essentially a new crossbow?
@@1fuckedupveteran what’s making it worse is no one will answer the phone there. I will never buy another one of their products again. This is ridiculous
After a bow grenades in your face, you really lose the will to have it repaired and give it a 2nd chance. KI never acknowledged any safety concerns through the whole process, which really put a sour taste in my mouth. I did finally get them to take it back after filing complaints with the BBB and CPSC. They didn’t respond to those, so I found a way to contact the CEO who did eventually buy it back (as well as respond to those complaints), but it took a long time. I ended up buying an Excalibur and that thing has been amazing. Goes through strings faster than I’d like, but it’s been great.
I didn’t mind it till this happened. I didn’t own it for very long though. What bothered me the most about dealing with them is they didn’t take this seriously whatsoever. This could have easily killed someone and they didn’t even care enough to look into it. Nobody acknowledged a safety concern, I actually asked them about it and multiple people said “there’s no safety concern here”. The CSR and a bow tech told me it was user error and the COO hinted towards it. Nobody really cared what happened, which is wildly concerning to me. They don’t care about safety whatsoever.